One Word Kill (Impossible Times #1) by Mark Lawrence

If you visit my blog you’ll know that Mark Lawrence is one of my favourite authors and so I’m very happy today to be reviewing One Word Kill as part of the tour organised by 47North. Further details are below.

One Word Kill is a slight change of tack and see’s this author taking a sidestep into the world of science fiction. This is a story involving time travel and friendship and is also something of a shout out to the 80s.

I will confess straight out that I know next to nothing about Dungeons & Dragons, I know – break out the pitchforks and roast me over a hot flame already. I also admit that science fiction is not my ‘go to’ genre and on top of that, time travel can be a little bit hit or miss for me. Basically, I guess this book had its work cut out and so I’m relieved to say that this was a very enjoyable read.

As the story sets out we meet Nick Hayes just as he discovers he has cancer. Nick is a fairly regular fifteen year old, a little bit awkward, doesn’t know how to relate to his mum, thinks girls are from a different planet, has a small group of close friends, doesn’t really fall into the ‘in’ crowd but has no real grumbles as such. He gets together with his friends at weekends to thrash out the latest stage of their D&D game and the biggest change to his world was the recent inclusion of a girl into their small circle – and then of course the shocking news of his illness.

Then other things start to happen. Events in Nick’s everyday life seem to be mimicking things that occur within the D&D game he plays with his friends and on top of that a stranger seems to be stalking him. Not to elaborate on the plot it seems that this stalker needs Nick and his friend’s help for a most unlikely rescue situation. And, as if you needed more, at the same time it seems that Mia, the recent female addition to the crew, has caught the attention of, in my gran’s words, ‘a thoroughly bad sort’!

So this all comes together in a roiling mess of events that escalate into something crazy before eventually untangling themselves and rushing headlong at a conclusion.

What I thought was really good here – the friendships and banter were very well done. Basically these are a bunch of nerdy teenagers who get together to geek out. The language of games overcomes everything after all and the interactions and dialogue flow really well – for me, these characters felt real and behaved the way I would expect.

If you love the 80s you’ll love all the little shout outs and whilst I admit that I probably missed a few along the way part of the fun is spotting those things that resonate personally. I enjoyed that this story had a familiar feel, think Stranger Things and Back to the Future but also imagine hints of The Goonies and Stand By Me, yet,in spite of that, it was different from the norm in that, as you would imagine with the inclusion of a seriously ill main character, the story has a serious feel. There is still that sense of camaraderie that you would anticipate but there’s also an element of sadness that you would expect to accompany such a serious issue. But, before you become all doom and gloom – there is also hope thrown into the mix so bear that in mind too.

The science fiction elements – well, this is time travel, and I can go round and round in circles with the whys and wherefores. I think the explanations here are done well, probably a little bit over my head in some respects – all the split, multiple timelines and quantum physics (yeah, straight over the top of this one’s noggin) but to be fair I don’t think there’s too much convoluted E=MC2 going on here so I’m sure most people will find this a fairly easy, maybe even ‘soft’ sci fi read.

In terms of criticisms. The only thing I would mention, and I do tend to bang on about shorter stories – this feels like it could have used a little more padding. This is a very quick page count and I appreciate that the brevity gives the story a snappy feel but at the same time it also left me feeling that the ending was a little bit rushed, there was a sense that some things slotted very conveniently into place at various points and also, occasionally a feeling of being ‘told’ rather than ‘shown’.

On the whole One Word Kill is a fast paced adventure, it is a story that compels you to turn the pages quickly to see what will happen next and put bluntly there’s never a dull moment.

I received a copy courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Your description of the characters gave me some Stranger Things vibes as well, which means I’m quite curious about this book – and if it’s any comfort, I know absolutely *nothing* about Dungeons and Dragons, apart from knowing it exists… 😉

I think the key here for me is the interactions felt real- that’s huge especially when throwing back to the 80’s. and speaking of, the throwback vibes sound great. Stranger Things/ Back to the Future type feels? Sign me up lol.

I’ve had my eye on this one due to the D&D references, and this is the first reviews I’ve seen. Can’t wait to read it!

It’s very good tbh and the interactions are great – it’s like Lawrence is really channelling his own teenage years and I’m not certain it’s something I could get so spot on. I loved all the references too. I think my only real issue with this is that it felt like it could have been expanded, which is probably an odd thing to say but at just over 200 pages it felt a little rushed in parts. Otherwise a great sci fi read.
Lynn 😀

I can’t wait to check this one out. I got it from Amazon as one of my Prime perks so it’s not a review book and is hence behind some of my other books that have priority, but I do hope I can get to it soon.

There is an element of fun but the read is still quite dark in a number of ways, particularly the main character’s cancer diagnosis. But, yes, this isn’t the grimdark fantasy of MLs other series. Lynn 😄

Well, it depends if you want fantasy of sci-fi. This is more sci-fi, very much has a Stranger Things vibe, a bit more serious because of the main pov being diagnosed with serious illness. From his fantasy, the Prince of Thorns series is very dark, a lot of people didn’t really like the main character Jorg, I loved that series I have to confess but I also admit it’s maybe not for everyone. Prince of Fools – that series is immense. Much more of an old school, swords and sorcery feel and two excellent main characters who I loved. It’s still got death and blood but not as grimdark as the first. Red Sister is receiving a lot of love – it’s about a young girl who basically receives assassins training from nuns. Grimdark in terms of the world but a great series. Went into a total sale pitch there didn’t I! I would probably start with Red Sister.
Lynn 😀